Franklin Square school board President Joseph Armocida was recognized by the State School Boards Association.

The president of the Franklin Square Board of Education, Joseph Armocida, 54, was honored by Superintendent of Schools Patrick Manley as a recipient of the New York State School Boards Association Award for Excellence on Sept. 10.

Armocida, a resident of Franklin Square for 24 years, has been a board trustee since 2001. He was its vice president from 2004 to 2006, and has been its president since 2006. He has also served on the Sewanhaka Central High School District board since 2007.

The NYSSBA Award for Excellence recognizes board members who are regular participants in training and the association’s leadership development programs. Those programs, which help keep board members educationally up to date, include seminars and conferences both local and around the state, the Legislators Lobby, held in Albany every March, and the state or national school boards association’s annual conference.

Armocida, who said he had no idea he would be receiving the award before Manley called his name, told the Herald that while it was nice to be recognized by the NYSSBA, he was focused on continuing to serve the Franklin Square board and ensuring that it meets the community’s expectations.

“We have a great board that works well together,” Armocida told the Herald. “Fortunately, we do not have many tough challenges. [The one challenge] is making sure that we maintain the high quality of education that the community has come to expect from us — trying to implement new programs like the pre-K and providing tablets to our students, while working within the guidelines that the state mandates, including the 2 percent tax cap.”

The Franklin Square pre-kindergarten program is in its first year. Apple iPads will be provided in classrooms during the second half of the school year.

Armocida lives with his wife of 24 years, Lillian, and his daughter, Nicole. He has been in the construction industry for 33 years, and is a project executive at TRM Contracting. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Rebuilding Together NYC since 2003, and has been a member of its Executive Board since 2007.

He has worked on the district’s Demographics Committee and the Construction Planning Committee, and served as chairman of the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee for three years.

He is a member of the Carey Dads’ Club, and can be found in the shack during football games and at all of the club’s activities. He is also a member of the PTA. In his spare time he enjoys fishing, gardening, baseball and activities with his family.